After reading and working with the document, ask students to write a brief
story of the court-packing controversy using five words from the list.

Reading for the Main Idea

Students should review what their textbook has to say about the court-packing
controversy. Ask them to read the document and answer the following questions.

How many Justices does FDR want to add to the Supreme Court?

What does Gannett feel will be the result of this increase?

What alternative method for changing the system does Gannett propose?

List three principles of government that Gannett mentions in this statement.

The Constitutional Issue

Ask students to define the constitutional issue. Why was this issue so
controversial?

In paragraph 4, Gannett expresses his fear that the executive will dominate
the other two branches of government. Ask students to recall other times in
our history when one of the three branches became too powerful.

Some have argued that our system of separation of powers and checks and
balances paralyzes the efficient working of government and that we should
amend the Constitution to provide for a parliamentary system of government.
Ask interested students to research and stage a debate for the class on the
question: RESOLVED that the Constitution should be amended to provide for
a parliamentary system of government.

Thinking Metaphorically

In the third paragraph, the author uses a metaphor when he compares the
Supreme Court to an anchor. Play with this idea with your students. How is
the Court like an anchor? If the Court is the anchor, what is the ship? What
is the sea? What other storms might there have been in our history? Invite
them to suggest other possible metaphors for the Court's role in our system.

Supporters of Roosevelt's plan would have seen the Supreme Court differently.
Follow the steps below to help students write their own metaphorical statement.

List on the board how the supporters of the President's plan might
have viewed the Supreme Court.

Ask students to look at the list and suggest something in nature or
something mechanical that has those qualities. List their suggestions
on the board.

Ask students to write several possible metaphorical statements that
FDR's supporters might have used to describe the Court.

Techniques of Persuasion

Ask students to reread the document and underline the parts that are particularly
persuasive, and then to complete one of the following activities.

Rank in order of importance the three most persuasive sections and discuss
why they are most persuasive.

Write a brief paper describing the reasons why this document is or is not
persuasive.

For Further Study

The number of Justices on the Supreme Court has been changed six times in
our history: 1789, 1801, 1802, 1837, 1863, and 1869. Ask students to investigate
the circumstances under which the number was changed.